Emulsified Water-No Spot Car Wash

I just bought a new Jeep Liberty. Whenever I'm at the Chrysler dealer they will run my car thru their mini car wash before leaving. And it's simply amazing. It takes about a minute and you're good to go. No air dry-No hand dry. The water evaporates leaving no water spotting at all.

They told me it's because they use "Emulsified Water" with no further explanation. Is the water just softened or what..? No car washes exist that use this specialty water product.

So here's my idea: Mix up my own emulsified water and load into a pressure power wash/cleaner.

I've had black cars before and know how quickly swirls happen especially at car washes that use brushes.

but wonder if they are using a soap/detergent kind of similar to the Mr. Clean stuff you can buy at the auto parts store, which is supposed to cause water to sheet off your car without towel drying, and without leaving spots?

but wonder if they are using a soap/detergent kind of similar to the Mr. Clean stuff you can buy at the auto parts store, which is supposed to cause water to sheet off your car without towel drying, and without leaving spots?

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Good catch Steve. The Mr. Clean requires soap and the reviews on that product are mixed. The emulsified wash is soapless.

The car wash I frequent has what they call a "spot-free rinse". They still blow dry the car, but it seems to work as there are no spots. I have no idea what makes this rinse spot free, but I'll inquire and report back if I can find out.

Maybe they're running it through a reverse-osmosis membrane...no minerals or other contaminents in the water, nothing left in it to spot. Those filters don't have the greatest efficiency (in wasted water) - you end up thowing away a fair amount.

The car wash I frequent has what they call a "spot-free rinse". They still blow dry the car, but it seems to work as there are no spots. I have no idea what makes this rinse spot free, but I'll inquire and report back if I can find out.

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I think I hit paydirt. It's a "New Wave" product called "Purclean": (can't post link-sorry)
Looks partially proprietary. Too bad because it also looks like it's for commercial applications exclusively.

"PurClean is the professional's choice for delivering a spot-free car wash, every time. The PurClean system utilizes the process of reverse osmosis to eliminate the mineral content in the water. Manufactured with only the finest quality components and our unique Patent Pending (Water Stabilizer™) pre-treatment system, the PurClean Spot-Free Rinse system addresses water hardness, operates efficiently and cost effectively while eliminating the need and upfront cost of a water softener as well as the ongoing expense of softener salt. The PurClean systems effective use of pure mineral-free water delivered to the vehicle as a final rinse allows the entire vehicle to dry perfectly spot-free eliminating the need to costly and time-consuming hand drying.

With a variety of models to choose from, New Wave Industries has the right PurClean model to fit your vehicle washing needs. Our knowledgeable and friendly staff of engineers, project managers and technical assistants are available to assist you in selecting and sizing the perfect PurClean system for your specific vehicle washing application.

PurClean is represented by a nation-wide network of factory trained / authorized distributors and service providers - Contact PurClean today for the authorized PurClean representative nearest to you."

RO water is not proprietary, but perhaps what they add to it is. It seems to make sense. Generally the spot free rinse is just a fine mist of water that just adds enough water to the droplets to make them roll off.

This chemical must interfere with the surface tension of the water so it doesn't bead up at all and what does evaporates cleanly.

I think the point is that (assuming it is working properly), reverse osmosis removes all impurities from the water; even without a wetting agent (which could add something that might create spotting in itself), once it evaporates, there would be no residue. A wetting agent that also left no residue would remove the water quicker, but have no effect on spotting unless it picked up a bunch of dust prior to evaporating and holding it to leave in place.

Ok...don't anybody chastise me because I have never done this, but a car detailer told me if you add about 6 oz of kerosene to a 5 gal bucket of soapy water the water will "sheet" off. I've never tried it due to environmental reasons, but wondered if anybody else has heard of this?

A quart of oil can coat a small lake with oil...most petroleum products don't disolve in water, so if it did anything, it'd leave a sticky coating of kerosene on the car...attracting dust like a big magnet. Might look good for a short while, and you're right, very unfriendly to the ecology.